Together
by fakiagirl
Summary: HikaruxKaoru  When Hikaru gets injured in an accident, Kaoru has a choice to make: To keep the friendship he has always known, or to abandon it in search of a new one.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ouran High School Host Club.

**_Author's Note: _**Special thanks to Shadow Neko Yumi, not only for being my wonderful editor, but also for introducing this series to me!

- - -

Together

- - -

Prologue

- - -

"Ah, how boring," said the twins in perfect unison. "Why are we even here?"

"Haru-chan said it would be a good idea!" said Honey, 'sparkling with cuteness,' as his fangirls would no doubt say.

The twins gave each other long suffering looks. "Oh, really?"

**15 minutes earlier . . .**

"Haaaaru-chan!" Honey cried appearing out of nowhere. "Let's go for a walk!"

Haruhi just looked at him for a moment. _It's _snowing _outside, _she thought dismally."Why?" was all she asked.

"Because Daddy needs to spend time with the family outside of the club!"

**The present . . .**

"_That's _why we're here," they said, sighing, the ends of the purple scarf connecting them flapping pathetically in the wind.

They all stopped as a group in front of a bench. They were still in sight of the road they had crossed to get here, but there was a bend up ahead.

" . . . "

Honey finally gave voice to what they all were thinking. "It's coooold."

"Yeah," said Morinozuka.

"Mnnn . . ." agreed Tamaki, shivering uncontrollably in his too-thin clothes.

Kyouya sighed.

"Uh . . ." groaned Haruhi.

The twins looked at each other and shrugged.

Everyone turned back towards the way they had come and began walking rather quickly. Suddenly, just as the front of the group began walking across the street, Haruhi bent down. Seeing her do so out of the corner of his eye, Kaoru quickly slipped his end of the scarf off his neck and took the few steps back required to be at her side.

"Oh, what a cute kitten!" she said as he reached her. He bent down to look at it, and had opened his mouth to comment when he was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of foreboding. He jerked his head back towards the street to see Hikaru standing on it, staring at him. Kaoru saw the bicyclist as only a blur out of the corner of his eye, and half-threw himself towards his twin brother, but he was a couple too many steps away.

"HIKARU!"

Though the rest of the group was actually closer than Kaoru, he reached his brother first. He noticed the bicyclist's existence only in some far away part of his mind. First and foremost was the sight of Hikaru on the ground, face twisted in pain, his hand clutching his right side. He could hear people calling his name, and Hikaru's name, but he blocked them out. "Hikaru," he said. Hikaru opened his eyes, meeting Kaoru's identical ones. They didn't need to say anything, so they didn't. Kaoru picked up Hikaru, being careful of his side, which seemed to be the only part of him really injured.

"Kaoru," said Haruhi, trying to tell him something. He ignored her and walked on, towards the school.

No one followed him.

- - -  



	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ouran High School Host Club.

**_Author's Note: _**I guess technically this is Chapter 1, but it's only this and the Epilogue and Prologue, so it's more like the Logue.

- - -

Together

- - -

" . . . so the guy on the bike was only scraped up a little bit. He kept apologizing, and was really very nice – uh, Kaoru?"

Kaoru sat in one of the chairs in the waiting room, head bent, staring at the floor tiles but not really seeing them. Hikaru getting hit by the bike – falling – on the ground – face twisted in pain: the images flashed before his eyes like a movie reel that just kept repeating, with his thoughts as the soundtrack.

But the one thing he could not get out of his head was Hikaru's expression, when he looked back and saw Kaoru. Kaoru and Haruhi . . .

"Kaoru Hitachiin?" he heard someone say tentatively. He looked up to see a nurse peeking out of a door leading to one of the private rooms in the school nurse's office.

He stood and walked towards her. The rest of the group held back and watched as he silently entered the room where his twin waited.

"Kaoru!" said Hikaru, relieved.

"Hikaru." He looked at Hikaru carefully, trying to see if he was still in pain. It looked like he was. The bandages made a bright white line at a diagonal angle across his right ribs. His shirt was on a chair next to the single bed, a bit torn and with a long streak of dried blood showing how the pedal on the bike had scraped him. Kaoru sat in the chair and looked at Hikaru.

"I'm fine. Really. It hardly hurts at all anymore."

They sat a moment in silence, neither of them moving.

"Erm . . ." said the nurse. The boys looked at her. "Hikaru is not going to be able to attend class tomorrow, so do you think you bring his stuff down here?"

This took a moment to penetrate Kaoru's brain. "He's . . . sleeping down here?"

The nurse looked surprised, as if this were obvious. "Of course. This is a school for privileged families, and we must give the best care to any and all of our students. Hikaru should only walk as much as is strictly necessary."

"Well, that means . . ." said Hikaru.

". . . I'm sleeping down here as well," finished Kaoru.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that," said the nurse firmly.

"What?" said the twins. They had always shared a room.

"Hikaru needs rest. I cannot allow you to stay up talking all night."

They stared at her, open-mouthed. Everyone knew the twins were inseparable. No one ever even tried to keep them apart. "We won't talk," they said together, and gave her their best convincing look. She wasn't buying it.

"No." And that was that.

- - -

At about 11:00 PM, Kaoru figured the staff would be in bed. He was right. The nurse's office was empty, and it took very little effort to slip into Hikaru's room. There was no window, so it was very dark, but there was only the bed, the chair, and a small table in one corner, which Kaoru had no trouble avoiding.

"Hikaru?" There was no answer, which surprised him slightly. Then he remembered how he had been allowed to bid his twin good night, and hearing the nurse tell Hikaru they were going to give him a sedative as he was leaving. He _tsk_ed in the darkness and sat in the chair by Hikaru's bed.

The room was chill, despite the large heating system that ensured the consent temperature of the entire school. Kaoru pulled his knees up to his chest and perched on the small chair, listening to Hikaru's breathing. He heard that sound every night, right up until he fell asleep. It was the constant background for his dreams, and if he ever woke in the middle of then night, then that was what he heard, soothing him and lulling him back into sleep's grasp. He had never fallen asleep without hearing that even breathing, not once. He closed his eyes and concentrated on it, blocking out his own discomfort.

However, it was a tad too chilly for his liking, so he gently eased back the covers a little on the bed and slipped in beside Hikaru. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, he felt Hikaru unconsciously turn towards him, and Kaoru's automatic response was put his arms around him and hold him close. So he did.

- - -

Hikaru and Kaoru were both awoken quite suddenly by a clatter. "What?" they both asked groggily, opening their eyes. The first thing they both saw was a pair of gold eyes identical to their own staring back at them. They both quickly released their hold on one another, blushing slightly, and sat up. Hikaru, however, let out a hissed breath, automatically clutching his side, and Kaoru half turned towards him, concerned. But Hikaru shook his head, and they both looked up to see what the cause of the clatter had been.

It was a nurse, but a different one from the one last night, and a bit younger as well. She was blushing furiously, both hands clamped over her mouth, her eyes wide. The twins looked at her face, and then at the clipboard on the floor, and then at her again.

"I - I - I - " she stuttered.

The twins looked at each other, then back at the clipboard, then back at her. "We sincerely apologize," they both said, bowing their heads.

"You see . . ."

"I just . . ."

"Couldn't stay away from my beloved brother!" they both cried, Hikaru clutching Kaoru to his chest.

The nurse made a muffled noise sounding something like, "Sqeeee!" before fleeing the room. The twins began laughing uncontrollably, leaning on each other as tears filled their eyes from laughing so hard. As they calmed down their eyes met, each with a smile on their face that lit up the whole room. Realizing how close they were, a little color touched their cheeks and they hastily moved apart. Kaoru slipped out of the bed and onto the chair beside it. _This is so weird, _he thought. _I've never been uncomfortable with him before. _He looked at Hikaru, and found Hikaru looking back at him. His heart quickened, and for a moment he forgot to breathe.

"Ahem!" said someone at the doorway. They looked to find the nurse from the previous day standing in it.

"Oh, hello!" they said, both sweat-dropping simultaneously.

"Out!" she said to Kaoru, jerking her thumb in the direction of the doorway, which she stepped aside from. She stayed right there, though, so he had to walk through her blistering gaze to reach freedom. He turned and tried desperately to wave at Hikaru, which he only just managed before the door closed. He sighed, stared at it a moment, and turned around, straight into Tamaki.

"Oh, my lord! Hehe . . ." said Kaoru, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"You okay, Kaoru?" asked Tamaki quietly without his usual drama.

Kaoru blinked. "Um, yeah. I'm fine."

As they began walking down the hall, Tamaki began talking. " . . . so we thought perhaps we would go up to a hotel there for the first few days of the break."

"Oh, I'd forgotten break begins tomorrow."

"Yes," continued Kyoya. "You see, we had a little more money than we had been planning on because of the sales from our photo shoot last week, so all six of us could stay there for three days. We've already called your parents for you, and they said it would be fine."

"Oh, yes," said Kaoru, his tone sarcastic. "Spending three days . . ." he frowned slightly, ". . . with the club stuck in a hotel . . . sounds great." It was disconcerting, not having Hikaru there to finish his sentences and say things with him. "Wait . . . six of us?"

"Erm, yes," said Kyoya, adjusting his glasses slightly. "The nurse says Hikaru will not be able to walk any great distance for at least a week, and he should stay at home with your parents until he is feeling better."

Kaoru had noticed that everyone seemed to be giving him side-long glances every now and then, but now everyone seemed to be staring at him, waiting for his reaction. When he didn't say anything, Haruhi spoke.

"Kaoru, you can not always be with your brother, and what he needs right now is some time to recover. You should come with us! It will be fun!" She gave him an irresistible look of pure cuteness, but something just felt . . . wrong. He noticed Mori-sempai looking at him with an unreadable expression, but Kaoru's gaze was drawn back to Haruhi's face. "Well, okay . . ."

"That's great!" she said, giving him a sweet smile, and everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Kaoru automatically glanced back where the door to Hikaru's room would be, though the nurse's office was already out of sight. He felt a little twinge of . . . something . . . but ignored it and followed Haruhi off to his first class of the day.

"Yes! Our last day before break . . . is OVER!" cried Tamaki, no doubt fantasizing about hotels and Haruhi.

The host club was heading towards their rooms for the night, but suddenly Kaoru paused.

"Uh, I was going to stop by and say hi to Hikaru."

"Oh. See you tomorrow, then!" said Haruhi, waving at him as she turned with the rest of the group to continue on their way.

"Bye Kaoru-kun!"

"See you later!"

Kaoru was about to continue along the hallway leading to the nurse's office when he noticed that Takashi was still there, and looking at him.

"Mori-sempai?"

Takashi gazed at him for a moment. "Make sure you are doing what you want," he said, and then turned to follow the rest of the club.

Kaoru stared after him for a moment, surprised. "'What I want . . .'" _What did he mean by that?_ For some reason, an image of Hikaru's smiling face appeared in his mind's eye. "Psh!" he said, unsure of what even he meant himself.

The nurse on duty looked up at his approach and merely nodded. He opened the door to Hikaru's room, who immediately looked up from his bed, a smile on his face. An answering smile crossed Kaoru's, and he closed the door gently behind him. "How are you doing?" he asked, sitting down on the chair next to the bed.

"Better," Hikaru answered with a grin. "So . . ." His expression suddenly became serious. "Break's tomorrow."

"Yeah." Kaoru eyed the bedside table uncomfortably.

"And . . .?"

"I'm going." He refused to meet his brother's gaze.

"Is it because Haruhi asked you?" His tone was almost teasing, and Kaoru looked up.

"No."

Hikaru smiled at him, a knowing, almost sad smile. "I think you're lying."

"Why would I lie?" Kaoru stood up suddenly. "I'll see you in three days."

"So . . . are you really leaving, then?" This was a quieter tone, one Kaoru wasn't so used to. Hikaru's expression, however, had not changed.

"Yes." Kaoru turned and walked to the door, suddenly angry.

"_I love you." _

It was a whisper, barely audible. Kaoru could have ignored it, could have pretended to not have heard. He could have brushed it off; _"Of course you love me! We're brothers, right?" _But the quiet despair in those three words made him turn around instead.

Hikaru was lying on the bed again, sprawled on the mattress as if he had lost the energy that had been keeping him up right. His hair fell softly in front of his eyes, eyes that held the same despair as that which had been in his voice. But what really got to Kaoru were the tears in his eyes.

Because they both knew that Kaoru's choice was more than just three days away from his brother. It was three days away from his life, three days away from the reality they had shared. Now that reality was trembling, blurring, becoming the illusion they both secretly feared it was. Because any and every happiness, no matter how small, may only be an illusion.

And neither of them had ever been alone.

Ever since they were born, they had been together. When one had caught a cold, the other had been soon to follow after. When they were teased, picked on, when someone had made them cry, they had always been together. And they had most certainly never, ever, cried alone.

But as soon as those tears in Hikaru's eyes spilled over, that would change. As soon as Kaoru opened that door, they would have to deal with their pain. Alone.

Kaoru was at his twin's side before either of them were even really aware he had moved. He grasped Hikaru's hand in his own, a soft touch that said more than any words he could have said. As their lips met, a single tear leaked out of a single eye. One tear trembled as it slipped gently out of the corner of one eye.

And two identical tears slid gently down two identical cheeks, and fell.

Together.

- - -  



	3. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ouran High School Host Club.

**_Author's Note: _**I hope you're enjoying it!

- - -

Together

- - -

Epilogue

- - -

"Kyaaaa! Hikaru-kun, Hikaru-kun! Can we see your scar?"

"Not the scar again," muttered Haruhi, the girls at her table looking at the Hikaru-kun in question.

The twins leaned on each other and grinned. "No, no, no!" they said, shaking their fingers at the small group of girls clustered around the table in front of them.

"Well, it has certainly made the twins more popular," commented Kyouya.

_Psh, _thought Haruhi. _He just can't wait to get the money when Hikaru will let us photograph him with his scar. _

"But why not, Kaoru-kun, Hikaru-kun?" asked the girls.

"Because . . ." Hikaru placed a finger under Kaoru's chin and leaned in slightly. "I trust only Kaoru with the knowledge that I have . . . a weakness."

The girls sighed, hearts floating above their heads.

"Ah, I suppose it's good then, that our plan succeeded so well," said Tamaki.

"Succeeded?!" exclaimed Haruhi. "If it had succeeded, the twins would not be talking to each other at all! We were trying to separate them!"

"And that would have made them sad, Tamaki-kun!" said Honey-sempai.

"Yeah," grunted Mori-sempai.

"Wait . . . I thought you supported the plan?" cried Tamaki.

"You insisted that we go, even if one of the twins had to be left behind, no matter what. I think perhaps it was about Haruhi . . ." said Kyouya.

Takashi sat in a corner, woe surrounding him like a cloud. "Oh, Tamaki-kun!" cried his fangirls, rushing over to him. "Please, Tamaki-kun!" said one of them, at which his eyes lit up.

"Oh, princess, only your eyes could bring me back from my despair and bestow upon this humble man the will to live!"

"Oh, Tamaki-kun . . ."

"Shhh!" hissed one of the other girls. "You might disturb Hikaru-kun and Kaoru-kun!"

Kaoru removed his arm from Hikaru's shoulder and placed it on his waist instead as his twin leaned in closer, but Hikaru suddenly stiffened and turned his head, letting out a hissed breath.

"Hikaru!" cried Kaoru.

The girls gasped and held their breath.

"Does it still . . ." Kaoru turned Hikaru's face gently towards his own, ". . . hurt?" Hikaru sighed dramatically, and looked away from his brother, blushing delicately. "It . . . does."

The girls sighed in appreciation. "Beautiful . . ." one of them gasped.

"But . . ." said Hikaru, placing a hand on Kaoru's cheek, "Being with you, Kaoru, makes the pain . . ." Here his voice became a whisper, ". . . _disappear._"

"Oh, Hikaru . . ." sighed Kaoru, and all the girls sighed with him.

Then, delicately, savoring the moment, Hikaru leaned in just a little farther and kissed Kaoru.

There was a moment of utter silence. Then the reaction was something like the affect of a bomb going off. The girls clustered at the twins' feet fainted (and several bled slightly from the nose), the next row contracted nosebleeds, and the girls beyond that turned varying shades of red and made enough high-pitched squealing noises to break all the windows in the entire building.

Tamaki sprayed his mouthful of instant coffee half-way across the room, soaking Kyouya, who was just staring with his mouth hanging open. Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai both started, wide-eyed, before grabbing some tissues to help the girls in the vicinity of ground zero. Haruhi made unintelligible noises and turned interesting colors.

Kaoru and Hikaru burst out laughing, and when they finally calmed down, grinned at each other, and then embraced, just enjoying the moment.

Together.

- - -

Owari


End file.
